Shipping container for liquids and method of making same



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1.. M. WHITE SHIPPING CONTAINER FOR LIQUIDS AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed Nov. 26, l920 Wood Sa/zfzce T/zon Q/ae Kiwi 55w: 5

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LESTER IEARIUS WHITE, OF PERTH AMBQY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR "10 PERTH Alli- BGY CHEMICAL WORKS, OF NEW YQRK, N. 11, A @OBPOBATIGN 0F NEW JERSEY.

SHIPPING CONTAINER, FQZH, LIQUID$ AND METHOD 03E MAKING SAME.

Application filed November 28, 1920. Serial No. 426,399.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Learn MARIUS WHITE, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Perth Ambo in the county of Middlesex and State of ew Jerse have invented certain new and useful mprovements in Shipping Containers for Liquids and. Methods of Making Same, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates in general to shipping containers for liquids, and in particularto containers for solutions consisting of formaldehyde, either wholly or in part; it has for its object the production of a container which shall be cheaper and better than those heretofore in use.

Formaldehyde in quantities of five gallons and upwards, has heretofore been packed chiefly in barrels or kegs constructed of quarter-sawed white oak taken from the heart-wood of the tree. It has not been considered practicable to construct formaldehyde containers from other species of wood or from white oak staves containing sap wood, because containers made from the sap wood or from the inferior species will invariably leak badly. Moreover, these inferior woods are porous and occasion a further loss by reason of the fact that the formaldehyde which has been absorbed into the wood structure cannot be recovered in usable form. Furthermore, many of these inferior woods contain suflicient natural coloring matter to discolor the liquid packed in the container.

' Persistent efforts have been made by manufacturers of barrels to correct these dificulties of the inferior woods by difi'erent methods of treatment, such as impregnation with parafiin, glue, pitch and silicate of soda, but so far as I am aware no method of treatment heretofore proposed has proved to be wholly satisfactory.

The result of this condition is that manufacturers of formaldehyde have been compelled to use containers constructed of quarter-sawed white oak heart-wood which has lately become exceedingly costly and alarmingly scarce thru the depletion of the supply of available standing timber.

I have now invented a method of treating inferior grades of wood, such as red oak, so that containers made from this wood are in all respects as satisfactory as containers made from the best quality quarter-sawed white illustrated in the accompanying drawing, of

which- Figure 1 is an enlarged sectional re resentation of the interior of thecontamer after having been treated with thin glue,

Figure 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 after the application of the thick glue.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 after the removal of the excess thick glue, and

Figure 4: is a view similar to Fig. 3 after the application of a coat of paraffin.

To carry out my invention, 1 proceed as follows:

I first secure a thorough impregnation of all the pores and other irregularities of the wood by applying the glue in two steps; the first step being the application of a relatively thin hot glue which will penetrate the wood 1 to a comparatively deep extent as indicated at 2, but not completely fill all the pores; and the second step being the application of a thick glue 3 which completely fills all the pores and irregularities and makes practically a smooth surface on the inside of the container. These two coats are applied hot and after the glue has set, the barrel is treated with steam or hot water to dissolve the excess glue from the surface, but leaving all holes, pores, etc. completely filled with glue to a greater or less distance from the inside of the barrel. After removing the excess glue, the barrel is dried and coated with paraflin and is then ready to receive the formaldehyde.

It has long been known that formaldehyde will harden glue and render it insoluble, but the hardening action of formaldehyde on glue is relatively slow. Tthas been impossible to use glue as a lining for formaldehyde solution barrels because the glue would swell or loosen and dissolve before the formaldehyde would render it insoluble, or at least it would become so loosened from the wood as'to be Worthless for the purpose intended.

In the above described process, the surface presented by the glue to such of the formaldehyde solution as permeates the paraffine is extremely small, due to the fact that the glue is contained within the pore, hole or interstices in the wood. The pore or other hole contains glue which has set, and consquently swelling laterally or in the direction toward the interior of the stave is resisted, while the inner end of the poi. which is exposed to the action of the formaldehyde solution is covered with melted paraifine which resists solvent action of the water on the glue therein While permitting the formaldehyde to harden the glue before it can swell. Consequently the only action which such formaldehyde solution as permeates the paralfine can have is to harden the glue. I regard formaldehyde broadly as a tanning or hardening agent, which is most convenient where the container is to carry formaldehyde solution, but other tanning or hardening agents may be used such as potassium bichromate, sodium bichromate, etc.

Although the above invention is described with parafline as the medium for holding the glue in place during the hardening process, it should be understood that I do not restrict myself to par-affine as the medium, but

any other substitutes having the requisite qualities may be used, such as pitch, rosin, asphalt, etc., depending upon the material to be put in the container.

Although the invention is herein described with particular reference to wooden barrels for formaldehyde, it is to be understood that the invention in its broad aspects is applicable to barrels and other containers of metal, paper, fibre, etc., for any desired use wherein the same problems are encountered, and I do not restrict myself to the specific use herein described except as stated in the claims, as I consider myself the first to provide a container with an insoluble glue coating, and intend to broadly claim the same as well as the process, whereby decided economies can be effected in the present day burdensome cost of containers for formaldehyde and other liquids.

What I claim is:

1. A wooden container having a coating of glue overlaid with paraffin.

2. A formaldehyde container of wood having its interior surface coated with a material impermeable to formaldehyde, and having over said coating a second coating impermeable to water.

3. The process of forming an insoluble coating on formaldehyde containers, which consists in applying e coating of glue to the interior surface of the container, permitting the glue to set, and treating'the set glue with formaldehyde.

4. The process of forming an insoluble coating on formaldehyde containers, which consists in applying a coating of glue to the interior surface of the container, permitting the glue to set, and treating,.the set glue with formaldehyde.

5. The process of rendering a glue coating insoluble which consists in applying a glue solvent retarding coating pervious to formaldehyde in solution, and then treating with formaldehyde solution. 6. The process of rendering a glue coating insoluble which consists in applying a paratfin coating and then treating with formaldehyde.

7. The process of producing an insoluble glue coating which consists in impregnating wood with glue, applying a paraffin coating, and then treating with formaldehyde.

8. The process of producing an insoluble glue coating which consists in impregnating wood with relatively thin glue, applying a coating of heavier glue, applying paraflin, and treating with formaldehyde.

9. The process of producing an insoluble glue coating which consists in impregnating wood with relatively thin glue, applying a coating of heavier glue, applying paraffin, and treating with formaldehyde solution.

10. The process of producing an insoluble glue coating which consists in impregnating wood with relatively thin glue, applying a coating of heavier glue, removing excess of the latter coating, applying paraffin, and treating with formaldehyde.

11. A wooden formaldehyde container having a coating of insoluble glue and a coating of parafiin over said glue.

12. A barrel for formaldehyde composed of wood inferior to heart white oak impregnated with insoluble glue impermeable to formaldehyde.

13. A barrel for formaldehyde composed of wood inferior to heart white oak impregnated with insoluble glue and having a coating of paraffin over said glue.

14. A container having a coating of glue overlaid with a coating of a glue solvent retarding medium permeable to formaldehyde.

15. The process of rendering a glue coating insoluble which consists in tanning it through a coating pervious to the tanning agent but impervious to a glue solvent.

Signed at Perth Amboy in the county of Middlesex and State of New Jersey this 15th day of November, A. D. 1920.

LESTER MARIUS WHITE. 

